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<TITLE>Infopeople's online course "Essential Tools and Tips for Success in Searching Today's Web"</TITLE>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Many library staff members at all levels have told us they need training in how to do more effective and efficient web searches. The course described below is your opportunity to get that training from a master -- wherever you are, at times convenient for you. Please note that this course accommodates up to 75 participants; we will add sessions as necessary to meet demand, and we will be offering the course again in six months. We will also be offering an advanced search class, also taught by Joe Barker, starting in May.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Since some people who may be interested in participating might not receive this notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!</FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Title: Essential Tools and Tips for Success in Searching Today’s Web (online learning course)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Dates: February 26, 2008 - March 24, 2008</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">To register for this workshop: Use the online registration form at</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><A HREF="http://infopeople.org/workshop/367"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Calibri">http://infopeople.org/workshop/367</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Fee: $75 for those in the California library community and $150 for those out-of-state.</FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">"Google it" is the way a lot of people find information. Often, we (and our users) "ask Google" and are amazed how often it works. But sometimes we get too much. Or, even when we know the answer is on the web, we cannot construct a search that pulls out just what we need. We get millions of search results and wonder "What next?" We lack a search strategy for navigating the billions of web pages and other stuff that's out there.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--What goes on in search engines? How do they "think" about searching? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--What are today's best search engines after Google? Why are they the best? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--What are the most useful search commands? Will they work beyond Google? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--How can I create searches that effectively zero in on just what I need? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--When is it time to turn from web search engines to subject directories (like lii.org)? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--How can I find good, specific directories on subjects my users or I need to explore? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Is there a best search strategy for searching for a variety of information? </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--How do I deal with the need to evaluate all the stuff on the web quickly? </FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">In this course, you will explore answers to all these questions and more. It is designed for those who want to refresh their web search skills or are fairly new to web searching. It consolidates the most productive essentials for finding information of many kinds, based on the instructor's 12 years of experience teaching web search.</FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Workshop Description: This four-week online learning course will help you at the reference desk or in any situation where you think, "I bet that's on the web; let's take a look." It is designed to enhance your speed and confidence deciding where to search, why, and how. Through online readings and individual exercises, you will be able to apply and practice the essential tips and tools of web searching. The instructor will provide cheat sheets that can be used after the course.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">During the course, you will be doing exercises and taking quizzes to help you verify your grasp of the tips and tools explained in the weekly readings. You will also participate in online discussion forums and have a chance to submit a real question from your own experience to be searched and answered by another student in the class. We will discuss your successes and frustrations with this "ready for anything" exercise in terms of the search strategies offered in this course.</FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Module One: The Best Web Search Engines Today </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--How search engines work </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Strengths and weaknesses of Google, Ask, and Yahoo! </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Essential search principles shared by almost all search engines </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Module Two: Using Limiter Commands to Focus Your Search Results </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Essential limiter commands and how they work </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Building effective searches using and combining limiter commands </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Module Three: When to Turn to Subject Directories </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--The best general subject directories today </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--The essentials of evaluating what you find on the web </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Using Google to find specialized subject directories and link-rich pages </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Module Four: Being "Ready for Anything" </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Developing search strategies for different kinds of questions </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Analyzing questions, learning as you go, and remaining flexible </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Instructor: Joe Barker. Until June 2007, Joe worked full time as a reference and instruction librarian at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Doe library and the Moffitt undergraduate library. He also maintained an online web searching tutorial which remains one of the most heavily used resources for finding and evaluating information on the web. He has been teaching web searching for Infopeople, especially in connection with answering reference questions, since 2000 on topics such as PowerSearch, State of the Art Web Searching, Extreme Googling, Making the Most of the Post-Google Web, and Web 2.0: Searching Innovations. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Online Learning Details: </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">This four-week course will be taught online using the web. When you register, you will receive a registration confirmation that will include the URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Every student proceeds through the online learning modules at his or her own pace. Students should expect to commit to spending a minimum of 2 to 2½ hours per week on this course in order to be successful. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the course to begin the course work.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Your instructor will be available for limited consultation support for two weeks after the official end date of a course, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that, to give those who have fallen behind time to work independently on the course. However, you will be expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with your peers during the first four weeks.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Who Should Take This Course: Anyone from the library community with an interest in improving his or her skills and efficiency at finding information on the web. This course covers the essentials of using search engines and subject directories and shows how to integrate them into search strategies to find what you need. It also succinctly covers evaluating web information. It will be followed by an Advanced Searching online course scheduled to begin in May 2008. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Prerequisites:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">This course is taught over the web. You must:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Have an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Be able to save Microsoft Word .doc or Adobe .pdf files to your computer and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is available at <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en">http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en</A>. Search for "Word Viewer." For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at <A HREF="http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html">http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html</A>). </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward on a website that uses frames. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--To be most successful in this course, be willing to share information with your colleagues and be willing to spend time reading and participating in the weekly discussion boards. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is called Angel. The following are minimum system requirements for using Angel. You will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to participate in an online course: </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Windows: </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, Netscape 7.1 and above, or Firefox 1.5 and above </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Macintosh: </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--Mozilla 1.4 and above (which is the same engine as Netscape 7.1), Safari 2.0 and above, or Firefox 1.5 and above </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--OS X and above (OS 9 will NOT work with our online learning product)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information about Infopeople Training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople Workshops page at</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.infopeople.org/workshop"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Calibri">http://www.infopeople.org/workshop</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at assist@infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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